


A family that preys together

by sketzocase



Category: All New Wolverine, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Alcohol, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Sexual Abuse (mentioned but not shown ), Drug use mention, Dysfunctional family relationship, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, M/M, Mental Abuse, Non-Graphic Violence, Over protective little sister Laura, Past Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sex Tapes, and that oughta do it, both Laura and jubilee are at least in their twenties, dubious telepathy, for the record, mentioned torture, non graphic torture, sniktblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-26 23:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14412765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sketzocase/pseuds/sketzocase
Summary: Laura tracks down one of Romulus’ enforcers at a bar after a tape of her brother emerges. Soon the whole sniktfam is out on the prowl and ready to fuck some people up! (As always the trigger warnings are before the chapters.)





	1. Laura’s prey

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not sure yet- but this may be told from different POV’s. Alternating for sniktfam member to sniktfam member. Mainly becuase I’ve never written from Laura or Gabby’s perspectives before. 
> 
> All other stories will be updated. I’m literally stuck on ALL of them and had to write something fun and not too dramatic to get myself back into the flow of things. 
> 
> Warnings are given anytime something might be triggering. 
> 
> So yea- mention of non/con- not shown. Mention of torture- not really shown per se. No real relationships. Purely Sniktfam drama and the mess that comes along with them. 
> 
> There may be some lesbian relationship like sorta kinda maybe almost stuff- but that’s only becuase I head cannon Laura as bi. Becuase this is my head cannon and I can do what I want with it. :P 
> 
> Enjoy, y’all. Like I said- everything will be updated soon. Besides some stuff that i may be taking down becuase I have no intention of ever finishing it. But that’s another story.

I try to be calm. 

I try to be collected. I try- with everything within my might- to be clinical. 

It’s easier than it seems- given my upbringing. 

But.... things have gotten more complicated. 

I am not an experiment. I am not a number. 

I am a person. I person who loves and is loved. I am capable of this. 

I am worthy of this. 

He is also worthy of this. 

Word gets around in our hero circles. 

Especially when it comes to my family. 

Gabby and I were not at all surprised to see there was some tape of a sexual nature floating around with our brother involved. 

Daken just seems like the type for it. 

I wouldn’t have batted an eye if Bobby hadn’t told me that it seemed... off. 

I had - and still have- no desire to see my brother naked. Or see what he does in his spare time. 

But the tape... the tape was..... unwarranted. 

Daken of course- played dumb. He said he was acting. 

Daken’s pride is something of legend. He won’t admit he’s hurt. 

He won’t admit he’s hurt sober- that is. 

So I waited. I knew it was only a matter of time. 

I backed off- respectively kept my distance- waiting for him to slip up. 

Waiting for just the slightest reason to get involved. 

To learn the truth. 

A few stakeouts at some clubs, a few hushed words into the ears of lustful bouncers, a few talks with our parental figure to try and figure out just who this person was. How it was connected. 

Logan seemed curious as to why I wanted to know so much about that particular period of his life. Of Daken’s life. 

I said as much as I could without him wanting to get involved. 

 

Daken is wary of my assistance. Logan’s he would flat out reject. 

I learned more about Daken’s little secret. 

More about the people who controlled him. 

My blood boiled. 

I am not a possession- I will not let my brother be a possession either. 

Daken likes to think he’s self sufficient. That he can take care of himself with no assistance whatsoever. He is wrong. Everyone needs someone. Even if they can’t talk to that person. 

I put Daken’s friends on the case. Told them to press him. 

Johnny Storm was quite helpful. He told me that I was right- he also suspected after a very revealing chat with a drugged Daken that the tape was not at all consensual. 

I went digging. 

I’m good at digging. 

Further more- I’m good at helping people who cannot help themselves. 

And punishing abusers. 

My brother gives little thought to the glaring fact that he was mistreated. 

He mentioned it to Logan- drunk as usual- but he wasn’t being honest. 

His master is of little importance to me. 

The man can hurt no one. Not anymore. He is a figment of memory in the minds and lives of those he ruined- but nothing more. 

His ‘associate’- the one who so kindly visited my brother? Is more of a threat. 

A very real threat. 

A very tangible threat. 

And if someone is tangible- it can be punished. 

And that man- that monster? Needs punished. 

Eventually Logan got wind of the tape. He recognized the man in it. He said he’d worked with him before. He gave me some name. A code name of some sort. He said- for Daken to have reacted like he did- he must have known him for some years. 

Which my mind interpreted as ‘he’s done this before’. Daken went limp. I’ve seen girls, in my past, do the same when confronted with certain men. Men who’d hurt them before. It’s a natural reaction that can occur when something is beaten into someone. I had a similar reaction to certain people in my past. 

I am aware that Daken’s ‘training’ took place when he was young. And he is much older than I am. He’s had more time to... dwell on it. He’s had more time to learn. 

After seeing the tape- which I told him not to watch- Logan insisted on confronting Daken. 

I assume because he was attempting to ‘help’. I do not need his inference. I had to tell him bits and pieces of my plan to get him to back down. 

Daken is simply not ready for Logan interaction at this point. We’ve had many talks about it. 

I politely told Logan this. To not force it. Daken’s done much self improvement. I think Logan will honestly be surprised when they do interact. IF he doesn’t force it. 

Daken insists that nothing’s wrong. 

But he’s having nightmares. He’s using more heavily. He’s... paranoid. 

I extended an invitation to him to stay with Gabby and I. For comfort. 

To my surprise, he accepted. 

He’s been on my couch for several weeks now. 

I see him at his least guarded. And I want nothing more than to help him. 

We are siblings. He was there when I had no one. I tried to ease his suffering then, and I will do so now. 

Tonight, Gabby and I left him at home. Claiming we needed ‘girl time’. I’m not sure what constitutes as ‘girl time’ but he accepted the excuse and went about his business. 

It’s left Gabby and I time to do what we “Wolverines” do best- hunt. And avenge. 

I tracked his ‘partner’ as he called him to a club. 

A club where he can easily prey on others- like he did my brother. I can’t allow this to stand. 

I leave Gabby in the car with Jonathan- the two of them seemingly pleased with the fast food we picked up on the way to the club. 

I made myself out to be what the man will be looking for- an easy target. 

It’s not hard, given my past work. I know what men like. I know how they function. I know the despicable things they are capable of when they see something they like. 

He liked my brother. We share at least somewhat of a resemblance. Something maybe he’ll subtly pick up on but not be able to label right out. 

That works in my favor. 

I hike my skirt up just an inch more before pulling the tank top to a more... desirable location. 

The bouncer gives me no grief. He leers at me and then lets me through the doors. 

The club is dark and my senses are easily overpowered by the stench of alcohol and body odor. 

The club consists of two levels- the first being composed of a dance floor, a bar, and a seating area. The second being a level that wraps around the first, overlooking the dance floor where others can spy on the people below. I’m not surprised to see my mark at the top. He is a predator. He’s picking his prey carefully. My job is now to become that prey. 

I go to the bar, ordering shots of water in a shot glass- for appearances. I make a show of knocking them back- adjusting my behavior accordingly. 

A small glance up reveals that I’ve gained his attention. He locks eyes with me before moving from his spot on the railing. 

What this man fails to realize at this point is that he is not the predator in the room. 

He thinks he’s untouchable. His time with his ‘master’ only emboldening him in this belief. 

I turn back to the bar and order another shot- whiskey this time so he can smell the alcohol on me. To make the effect stronger, I swirl my finger in the cup and place some of the liquid on my person- like you would a perfume. Unnoticeably , of course. 

The man is behind me in minutes. 

He’s tall, well built, and unattractive by every sense of the word. Small eyes glinting with malice. 

He slides into the seat next to me, ordering himself a whiskey as well. 

“You’re a pretty thing,” He says, making eye contact with me. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing here by herself?” 

Ah. So it begins. 

“My friends left me,” I giggle-which I loathe- to add to the affect. 

“Oh yea?” The man smiles. “Looking for some new friends then?” 

I smile. “I could use the company.” 

He nods. “I’d be happy to keep you company tonight. This place can be a little rough. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” 

Of course. He’s throwing me off balance- so he thinks. Offering protection when he no doubt wishes me ill.

We talk about my ‘friends’ in detail. I describe some of my most attractive female friends- all of which are safely at home and away from this monster. 

He smiles and asks if he can go meet them. 

That speeds my time line up a small bit- but alls well that ends well. 

I agree to take him to my friends house- under the provision that he lets me drive. 

There is at no point during this that I will let him get any sort of upper hand. 

He agrees- following me out the car where Gabby and Jonathan are waiting. 

He seems... offput by the presence of a child- but recovers in minutes. Asks if she’s my daughter. 

He smells aroused. 

Confirming my belief that he has no care how old his victims are. 

I know Gabby smells it as well. 

I say she’s my sister. And very friendly. 

Gabby looks at me knowingly. She knows why we’re here. She’s knows this is the man. 

She also knows I would do nothing to endanger her. 

I put Gabby up front with me, putting the man in the back with Jonathan. A little hint- as far as the animal goes- as to who he’s dealing with. Gabby even tells him that Jonathan is a wolverine. It doesn’t seem to raise suspicions. 

I drive him to the warehouse that we’ve prepared. 

He still doesn’t seem nervous. 

When I pull out front I admit that I’ve lied to him. We’re having a party in the warehouse and needed some male company. 

To that- he seems overjoyed. 

“It’s okay, doll,” He says. “I can liven up your party.” 

As we’re exiting the car, he puts his hand on Gabby’s shoulder. Asks if she’s ever drank before. 

Gabby smiles and says she’s willing to try anything once. 

Her eyes reveal something else- he stupidly ignores it. 

The warehouse is pitch black as we enter- just as it should be. 

I call out to my ‘friends’ and tell Gabby to turn on the lights. 

When she does, I’m standing by the door to the warehouse- the only exit- and locking it. 

Now- now he seems worried. 

In front of him is a chair. A simple chair. In front of the chair is a computer set up on a small wooden table. 

“Have a seat,” I tell him, coldly. 

“I think I’m gonna go,” He says, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Before the party?” I ask in mock awe. 

He frowns. “Look bitch- I don’t know how you think you are- but I’m a very important guy. Whatever this is- if you don’t let me go- I’m gonna have to hurt ya.” 

“Oh we wouldn’t want that.” I slide my claws from my knuckles- putting them at his throat. “Have a seat,” I repeat. 

He swallows. “You’re... one of Logan’s.... aren’t ya?” He says, taking a step forward. 

“Yes,” I say simply. 

“Healing factor?” He asks. 

“Yes.” 

“Didn’t know he had a daughter,” The man says, stepping towards the chair. “Good to know.” He nods to Gabby. “She his too?” 

Gabby nods. 

He takes a seat. “You bitches don’t know who you’re messing with,” He chuckles. “I’m an important man.” 

“Yes,” I agree. “You’re an enforcer.” 

He smiles. “So you know me.” 

“I know you,” I agree. “I know who you worked for.” 

“WORK for,” He corrects. “He’s still around... and hurting me is a direct assault on him.... there will be retaliation.” 

“I’m not scared,” I say simply. “If your master wants to confront me, he’ll have to do it in person.” 

The man snorts. “Don’t think he won’t.” 

I smirk. “Call him, then.” 

The man’s face goes blank. “Excuse me?” 

“If you work for him- call him. Tell him you’re captured. Tell him to come save you.” 

The man swallows loudly. “It doesn’t work like that,” He says after a few long moments of silence. 

“Then,” I walk over and lean down, getting in his personal space, “You’re not as important as you think you are.” 

I know his master is contained. He doesn’t know that people know that. 

I only know because Logan knows. I don’t even think Daken knows. 

“What do you want?” The man asks. 

I walk over to he computer. “Gabby? Restrain him,” I say over my shoulder. 

Before he can react, Gabby as him effectively tied to the chair. Moving quickly just as we practiced. 

I start the video. A few seconds in, he looks away. 

“Can’t stand your own cinematography?” I ask smugly. 

“He asked for it,” He says quietly. 

“He asked... for that?” I point to the screen just as blood sprays.

“We go way back,” He says. “I was just following orders.” 

“You seemed to really enjoy your ‘orders’,” I say coldly. 

“He’s a fucking traitor,” The man says crassly. “He gets what he deserves,” He smirks. “And don’t think this is the first time he’s gotten it.” 

I nod. “I’m aware. How long have you been doling out his ‘punishments’?” 

The man exhales slowly. “How old is he?” 

“Seventy five,” Gabby answers, crossing her arms. 

“Bout.... sixty seven years,” He says matter of factly. 

“I see.” 

I can see Gabby doing the math on her fingers. 

“He’s always been a bit.... disobedient,” He says cooly. 

“Seeing as he was a child when you started.... I can imagine that’s the truth,” I lean down again. “But my brother wasn’t disobeying any orders that night. He didn’t have any orders that night.” 

“He’s a traitor,” The man growls. “He doesn’t have to disobey orders anymore to get punishments. If he runs into any of us- he’ll get more of the same. Maybe worse. Be grateful- I coulda flat out killed him.” 

“How many of you are there?” I ask calmly. 

“More than you can imagine,” He says, locking eyes with me. “Let me go.” 

“I would love to let you go,” I say. “You’re a vile person and I take no pleasure from your company.” 

“So.....” he cocks his head the side. 

“So... you hurt my brother,” I say. “You tortured him and you raped him. He won’t say this bothers him- you’ve beaten it into his head that hits is not a problem. It’s a fact of a life.” I pause. “This is not a fact of life. People are not punished like this.” 

“He’s a traitor!” The man snarls. “And he’s got his bitch sister’s doing his dirty work??? Oh you won’t believe what we’re going to do to him now,” He chuckles. “His life’s as good as over.” 

“Because of you and your ‘master’ he never had one to begin with,” I say. 

“Well he can kiss it goodbye,” He says. “And you and your little sister- too.” 

“Hmm....” I go to the computer and stop the footage- mostly because I can’t bear to hear any more of my brother’s brutal assault. “You are a regenerator?” I ask. 

He nods. 

“So obviously torturing you won’t do any good,” I say. 

He smiles. “Nope.” 

“And killing you would be satisfying.... but put me on your level,” I say. 

“Would you look at that,” He says. “You’re out of options.” 

I go to the table and retrieve my phone, sending a quick text message. “Gabby, Rachel is at the door,” I say. “Would you mind letting her in?” 

Gabby smiles and goes to the door, opening it and greeting our fellow x-men with glee. 

Rachel enters in full x-men gear- red leather hugging her every curve. 

I’ve always found her quite attractive. Just like Logan finds her mother- I suppose. 

“This is Ms. Grey,” I introduce. “She’s a telepath.” 

“Is that so?” The man says, looking her over. 

“I can’t make you feel regret for what you’ve done,” I say. “But.... she can.” 

He snorts again. “Oh yea?” 

“See- we’ve visited Daken,” I say. “And we’ve taken a little look around his head while he was sleeping... we know just how your little encounter made him feel.” 

“Oh yea?” He repeats- less smug this time. 

I nod. “Ms. Grey is going to make you suffer just the way he did,” I say, restarting the video. “Play by play,” I say. “Blow by blow. Inch. By. Inch.” 

He shakes his head. “I was under orders,” He says quickly. “It wasn’t personal!” 

“It seems pretty personal,” Gabby says.

The video is vile. My brother is beaten, torn to shreds, bleed, and then raped. Anyone can see that he was not ‘asking for it’. 

Rachel makes swift work of reducing the man to a wailing mess. 

It’s almost scary to watch. Almost. Part of me finds it quite satisfying. 

When the tape ends, the man is slumped forward in the chair. “Call your people off,” I say, lifting his chin with my finger. “Tell them that if ANYONE- anyone WHOSOEVER- touches my brother- there will be consequences.” 

The man nods. 

“Also... you should know that our father is aware of your little movie,” I say. “And he will also have ‘words’ with you.” 

He groans. 

“OR,” Rachel says, removing her hand from his forehead. “You can submit the tape to SHIELD, tell them of your involvement with Romulus, and go to jail.” She leans forward and whispers. “And Logan is PISSED. Honestly? I’d take the jail time.” 

He nods. “I’ll do it,” He says. “I’ll do it. I’m sorry. Call Logan off. I’ll go to jail.” 

Rachel grins. “Pretty sure he followed me here, however,” She says simply. “You might have to deal with him anyway.” 

I turn to her. “He followed you?” I say. “I told you not to bring anyone.” 

“You met your old man?” She chuckles. “You don’t TELL Logan anything. It’s like talking to a wall.” 

As if he could hear us- and he probably could through that door- the door opens. 

Logan’s wearing black. he intends to get bloody. 

“Jesus Christ!” The man on the chair groans. “I’m sorry- alright?? I’m sorry.” 

“You weren’t sorry when you hurt Daken,” I say. 

“Yea? Well I’m sorry now,” He says in a panic. 

“Of course,” Rachel says with a nod. “Everyone’s sorry when a pissed off Wolverine comes for them.” 

Logan hangs in the door. “Gabby, Rachel- go home,” He says. 

He’s letting me stay. 

I wonder what he’s up to exactly. 

Rachel looks at me as if for permission. 

“Daken is at home,” I say. “Please take Gabby to him. He’ll watch her.” 

Rachel nods. “Come on short stuff,” She says in a friendly manner. “The adults apparently have some more business to attend to.” 

Apparently. 

Logan approaches the man as Gabby and Rachel are leaving- thankfully with no fighting. 

“Lackey,” He says to the man. 

He hangs his head. “Your kid asked for it,” He says. “He betrayed-“ 

“He didn’t betray shit,” Logan growls. “Romulus left him.” 

“Left him?” The man snorts. “LEFT HIM? Oh no- little Daken is the most ungrateful brat we ever raised. Walking around like he knows shit. Walking around like he just gets to up and leave. You can NEVER leave. You serve or you die. Your boy knew the rules,” He says. 

Logan nods. “Sure, sure,” He says, extending his claws. “How fasts your regeneration?” He asks. 

The man swallows. “No point in telling you,” He says. “You’re gonna lop it off anyway.” 

Logan nods. “Yea- I am.” 

“Lop what off exactly?” I ask. 

Logan points to the mans hands. “He’s got tattoos,” He says. “And a ring he always wears.” 

Ah. 

I’m not sure I see his reasoning...

“I’mma take his hands,” Logan says. 

“Oh-“ 

“And his dick,” He adds. 

The man closes his eyes. “Do your worst,” He hisses. “The boys dead. He’s as good as dead. We’ll never stop coming for him. We’ll never back down. We’ll-“ 

Logan holds his hand up to cut the man off. “Go call your brother,” He says, turning to me when the man is silent. 

“Why?” 

Logan just looks at me. “Go call him,” He says. “Tell him that you need him to come to the school.” 

“Ah..... That is a terrible idea,” I say. “He’s at my apartment- he’s safe.” 

“Don’t matter if he’s safe or not,” Logan says. “We gotta get him to give a statement.” 

“He won’t-“ 

“We’ll get it telepathically,” Logan assures me. “He won’t have to say anything out loud.” 

“Logan-“ 

“We also need names and faces of all of these bastards.” 

The man in the chair is staring at his feet. 

“What for?” I ask curiously. 

Logan smirks. “We’re goin’ hunting,” He says. 

I’ve never heard a better statement.   
“I’ll call him,” I agree. 

Logan nods. “Then call SHIELD to come pick this bastard up,” He looks at him carefully. “Tell ‘em they’re gonna need a medic.” 

“Oh god,” The man groans. 

I’m happy to hear that noise. 

I nod. “I’ll be back,” As I’m heading out the door, I can hear the man pleas falling on deaf ears. Soon the pleas turn to sobbing. Then the sobbing turns to screams. 

While someone’s pain filled screams of agony are not typical sounds of joy- I relish every single one of them.


	2. Daken and the surprise needle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drugging of an involuntary kind. But it’s cool. Everyone is better for it in the end. Also telepathic fuckery!  
> Thanks for reading! I’m thinking this fic will only have like 10 chapters. Maybe 13. But they’re considerably shorter than all my other fics and therefore easier to write. So yea. More updates. Less time.  
> Let me know what you think. 
> 
> (Also- the Character who’s POV the chapter is in will always be in the title. It’s gonna jump in a random order. So.. yea.)

When Laura told me to meet her at the school.... I had my doubts. Of course I did. I’ve done minor x-men work at this point and see no reason to spend extended amounts of time around them if I don’t have to. 

Especially after all the bad shit that went down with Drake. 

God it makes me shudder to think about it. 

His icy lips on mine- the feeling of freezing with within..... it’s not something I treasure. 

But Laura said she needed me. 

I just hope it’s not to talk about what happened the other week. 

I told him not to release that video. I BEGGED him not to. I did everything he told me to. I told no one. I went nowhere for help. Fuck I even cleaned up in secret at the club. 

I don’t understand how that video got out. 

Maybe he didn’t release it on purpose. 

The question is then- who released it if not him? 

God I wish I would have fought back. 

But.... he’s been ‘correcting’ me since I was a child. There is no reasoning with him. I know from experience than any form of retaliation would have made it AT LEAST 10 times worse. 

The insults didn’t hurt as bad now that I’m grown. At least part of me understands that he was just saying those things to hurt me. 

I’m not completely useless. 

I have people who do seemingly like me. 

I’m not attractive or unintelligent. 

I stopped listening to this particular enforcer’s words decades ago. He really doesn’t know how to... what’s the phrase... “hit where it hurts”? 

His physical actions are much more damaging. 

The only verbal accusation that sticks is my inability to love. He gladly pointed out that I don’t have ‘normal’ people feelings. That sticks with me. That and being a traitor. 

He’s right- I don’t feel normal emotions. I have to try very, very, very hard. I’m having to learn right and wrong from a new perspective. I’m having to learn to let people in. And it’s hard. it seems almost impossible at times. But I’m trying. I think I even told him- I’m trying. I’m trying to do better. I’m trying to BE better. 

It’s just hard. 

And he’s right- I am a traitor. 

I’m working with the fucking x-men. 

It doesn’t get much more traitorous than that- I know. 

Times are changing. 

I.... I’m changing. 

And as frustrating as it is- it’s brought some interesting people into my life. I don’t mind it so much some days. Some days are even vastly easier than they used to be. My ‘new’ outlook on life isn’t completely bullshit. I enjoy my freedoms. The freedom to have my own thoughts, the freedom to experience my own emotions, the freedom to... care. To actually care about things. 

Granted- it’s very few things... but it’s more than it used to be. And that’s progress. That’s actual, physical, progress. 

Laura always has a sly way of letting me know that she notices me trying. She applauds me. 

I pretend to not care about her words. But... they mean more to me than I’m willing to admit- even to myself. 

I can’t explain that to HIM however. 

He’ll never let me go. 

In a way- I think Laura gets that. 

At least enough to keep her from doing anything stupid. 

There are about ten enforcers I’ve had throughout my lifetime. (Ten that are still living- at any rate) Romulus chose them carefully. He trained them carefully. 

Each one has a devastatingly personal method of attack to ‘punish’ me. Each one is different. 

The rape wasn’t unexpected. 

And honestly with him- it’s barely that. 

There’s not some deep emotional scar that my sister seems to be convinced I have. It’s just... how it goes. With him- it’s in his bag of tricks. 

It’s not like when I was younger. When I was younger- yes. There were tears. There was begging. There was pleading. I couldn’t fathom how an adult could hurt me like that. 

I know now. 

I know how people are. 

Granted- I would never do that to child... and the thought of others doing it puts a bad taste in my mouth... but... Oh- I forget what I’m thinking. 

Maybe I’m just overthinking to protect myself. Maybe I am upset. Maybe... I have a right to be? 

Laura didn’t buy my ‘it was consensual’ story. She said I ‘screamed’ too much. 

I told her I was acting... but then she said something about seeing tears on my face. 

I adamantly denied his however. I don’t remember crying. 

Then again- it was a LOT of pain. More so than I’ve felt in a while. 

He’s not even the worst of the enforcers , however. I shudder to think of who’ll show up next. 

They all think I’m an entitled brat. 

IE- they were jealous of the ‘special’ training Romulus gave me. 

I don’t know how to tell them what that training consisted of. Or that it is the last thing in the world they would have wanted. Honestly- it’s the last thing in the world that anyone would want. 

It did not make me a well person. 

Wellness is something I’ve been thinking of a lot lately. 

I’m making progress. 

I’m at least not dishonoring my family as hard as I was. 

I never really cared about that- dishonor... until Laura and Gabby came along. Now? Now I care. I don’t want to do anything too terribly drastic to impact my siblings. 

I mean... not too badly at any rate. Nothing more than the usual fuckups that I seem to be incapable of avoiding. 

I’m sitting in the living room used by the x-men on the second floor of the school. Wooden floors catch the lights overhead and bounce back into my eyes in an unpleasant manner. 

Nothing I can do about it at the moment. 

I relax into the overstuffed red couch I’m sitting on. 

God am I tired. 

Since the... let’s call it ‘incident’- I’ve been exhausted. I’m not sleeping well. 

I never do after one of his visits. 

Usually because they were followed by a visit from Romulus himself. 

I have to admit- it’s made me slightly paranoid. 

I’ve been sleeping on Laura’s couch for a few weeks now. Hoping against all hope that he doesn’t know about her. That’s for a variety of reasons, however. Not just my safety. If he got ahold of the girls.... I just don’t know what I’d do. There’s no sin I wouldn’t commit to get them back. To get them safe. 

I never saw myself having siblings..... but I like them. I don’t know why- but I do. I don’t want to see them hurt. I don’t want to see them suffer- regardless of how short that suffering would be. 

Laura... she gets me. Not a lot of people try to understand. But she.... she understands. She... listens. She’s not quick to judge. She doesn’t make me feel like a freak when I say something fucked up. She goes as far as to halfway suggest that maybe some of my fuckedupness is not my fault. 

And.... no one’s ever said that to me. No one’s ever told me that what happened was not my fault. Laura- Laura did. 

So... yea. When she asked me to show up at the school- though obviously cautious- I didn’t think very much about it. 

I guess I’m only thinking about it now because she doesn’t seem to be here. 

I ran into Drake- awkwardly- ran into some students, ran into my father’s woman, and then some minor x-men team members who were up and about at this random time of night.... but no Laura. 

I could have sworn she said she’d meet me here. 

Drake told me to sit in the living room and wait for her. I’m decently sure he’s ‘keeping an eye’ on me from somewhere down the hall. 

Whatever. 

Hope he likes the view. 

I glance back over my shoulder and see no one in sight. Guess he’s not watching that carefully after all. 

Time ticks by, slowly, slowly, ever so slowly as I check my phone for messages. Updates.Anything. Literally any piece of news. 

About two hours after I’ve arrived, I get a text from Laura asking where I am. 

Finally. 

I tell her my location and straighten myself on the couch. I want to look like I wasn’t bored out of my mind. Or that I had better things to do than be here- which I really didn’t and I think she knows that... but I have to keep up appearances around the x-men. 

Laura says to sit tight and she’ll join me in a minute. 

She also says that she doesn’t want me to get angry... but she’s bringing company. 

Fine- that’s fine. I’m assuming she’s either talking about Gabby or some other x-hole who means to do something about my presence. 

Whatever. 

I wait for another ten minutes before I hear foot steps coming up the stairs and out into the hallway that leads to the living room. Finally. 

“You couldn’t have possibly kept me waiting any-“ I turn to look at them as I’m talking, stopping mid-sentence and glaring at the intruder. 

“Now, Daken,” Laura rushes to the front of the group, “don’t get mad. Okay? Don’t get mad.” 

Mad? MAD? “Oh, why on earth would I possibly get mad?” I growl, staring at her ‘company’. 

“Son,” Logan starts- taking a step away from Laura- which is stupid. She’s the only thing protecting him from my rage. “I know you’re upset.... you’ve got a lot of shit going on in your head that you haven’t got straightened out yet- I get that. I’ve let you have space and time. I’m only here because-“ 

“Because you can’t do the decent thing and stay dead,” I snarl. 

Logan hangs his head. “Son,” he tries again, “There’s something we gotta talk about. It’s bad timing but-“ 

“Then don’t talk about it,” I growl, turning to my sister. “What do you need?” I ask her. “Why am I here? Let me know so I can assist you and go the fuck home. Away from him.” 

She side eyes Logan. 

“We....” 

“You...?” 

Laura swallows loudly. Like she’s unsure of how to tell me whatever it is she needs. 

“We saw the tape- kid,” Logan says. “I recognized your ‘friend’. I’ve worked with him before.” 

I turn and glare at Laura. “You told him about the tape????” I ask, dumbfounded. 

“He found it on his own,” She says, crossing her arms. “I told him to stay out of it.” 

Oh god. “Out of what?” I ask, panic creeping up into my tone. “What did you do??” 

Laura takes a few steps froward, stopping in front of me. “That tape was not consensual,” She says. “It was not planned. You were hurt very badly. We couldn’t just.... let the man who did it go.”

“It was consensual,” I growl. 

“It wasn’t,” Laura argues. “He even said it wasn’t. He admitted that he raped you.” 

“He didn’t ‘rape’ me,” I growl. 

“Yea,” Logan says. “He did.” 

“Stay out of it,” I growl, glaring at him. 

“The man raped you- son,” Logan says. “And he’s done it before. And he was probably going to do it again if someone didn’t do something.” 

“I went about it as non-invasively as possible. I did not want to barge into your business,” Laura says quickly. “But you obviously needed help! You’ve been conditioned not fight this man. I had to do something!” Her eyes hold a glint of something that looks far too familiar. Something I’ve seen in my own eyes. Something I’ve seen in my father’s. Determination. Stubbornness. She will not accept that she’s in the wrong. “He literally raped you- Daken. You have nightmares. He had to be dealt with.” 

Oh no. Oh no. Holy fuck. “Laura... what did you do?” I ask in horror. 

Her eyes soften. “I took care of him for you,” She says gently. “I made him suffer.... I couldn’t stand the person who did that to you walking away. He had to be punished.” 

“Punished????” I feel sick to my stomach. “Laura you have no clue whatsoever about how these things work,” I say in a panic. 

“I know he was your master’s enforcer. And he admitted that he’s hurt you since you were a child,” She says quietly. “I want to assure you that he is taken care of.” 

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “He’s not alone,” I say in clipped words. “Taking down one of them is inviting all of them. You have no idea what you’ve done. You have no idea how much trouble I’m in now! You HAD to interfere. You don’t know what they’re going to do to me!” The last slipped out, but I’m too worked up to retract it. 

I can think of three worse enforcers that will come after him. 

Granted Romulus doesn’t put in an appearance himself. Which he may just very well do if he so pleases. I’m either going to have to go into hiding or face down the biggest nightmares of my childhood one right after the other. 

I don’t know how to tell my ‘family’ that they’ve royally fucked me over without giving away some of the... oh let’s say... I guess ‘trauma’- that’s been done to me. This isn’t something I’m going to tell my father! I can’t. He already looks at me like I’m some kind of...defect. If he sees what they did to me- if he hears how useless I really am- holy fuck. I’ll never live it down. Laura doesn’t understand this. She’s a woman. She doesn’t know what it’s like to be the only son of someone like our father. The reputation that comes along with it- even if you don’t want it to! I’m supposed to be strong and composed at all times. 

To be honest, right now I’m feeling neither. And to be even more honest- I hate them for that. I hate them robbing me of the only security I had- ignorance. Maybe one or two of the other enforcers would have shown up- maybe they wouldn’t have . Now that this one is either dead or captured- they’re all going to track me down. I’m a sitting duck! These people molded me! Fighting them is literally impossible. 

“Yea- we do,” Logan says. “I know you can’t just take down one. And I know that when he’s taken into SHIELD he’s gonna put out a call to .... destroy you. I know how these jackasses work. What they don’t know,” he pauses, “is how we work.” 

Now.... I’m confused. “Sorry?”I put my hand in my hair. “What do you mean ‘how we work’?”

How we work? We don’t work! Logan and Laura work. Laura and Gabby work. Laura, Gabby, and I work. Fuck Logan and Gabby work. All of us together??? That most certainly will not work!! What do they expect us to do?? Hop in the ‘family van’ and go on a international man hunt?? It’s impossible! They’ve literally signed my death papers. I am dead. I am going to die. I’m going to brutally tortured and murdered because my ‘family’ decided they had to interfere. 

And fuck it all-that scares me! They don’t know what these people are capable of. There were some of these fuckers that even Romulus wouldn’t interfere with. Not that he would ever say that. He just... let them have free reign. Whenever he say fit to correct- he did it monetarily. He bribed them- not threatened them. Some of these fuckers may be as old as he is!

“We’re going to hunt them all down,” Laura says with a smile. “And take care of them-“ 

“I don’t need your help with this!” I say in disbelief. “You don’t know what you’ve done!” 

Logan smirks. “So what are you gonna do? Let them all beat the shit out of you one at a time? It’s too late for that kiddo. You’re either going to come with us to stop them or you’re gonna stay at the school nice and safe until they’re all dead.”

Dead? He wants to kill them??? They’re almost immortal! It’s a feat even he can’t pull off. 

“Or in custody,” Laura adds. 

“But mostly dead,” Logan says. 

He’s... covered in blood. The black shirt and jeans combo make it hard to see- but I can smell it. He’s also coated in my good ‘friend’s’ scent. So is Laura. 

“You can’t kill these people- they are immortal,” I groan. 

“YOU can’t kill these people,” Laura says gently. “We can. We’re going to protect you, Daken. That’s the important part that you’re missing.” 

“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” I groan. “It wasn’t even that bad. The video was probably edited to make it look worse than it was.” 

“You... haven’t seen it?” Laura asks. 

I shake my head. “Why would I want to?” 

“Then let’s take it from the top, he followed you to a club, cornered you, took a room- so it was obviously some kind of sex club, he skinned you, he gutted you, he dislocated several of your limbs, broke your fingers, whipped you, and then brutally raped you. That’s the video- start to finish. Was any of that edited?” 

I didn’t need to hear it in that order. 

“God,” I groan. “How many times have you watched that?” I ask her. 

“Five,” She says. “And I have a good memory,” She pauses. “Also- you were already intoxicated when we started,” She pauses again. “And you went limp when he started- it was a very learned condition.” 

“But that’s not the point of this,” Logan says. “We took care of him. We’ll take care of them. It’s going to be okay.” 

They don’t comprehend what they’ve done. 

They can’t. 

They don’t know these people. Not like I do. 

There is no stopping this. 

I might as well just resign myself to the fact that I am going to die a very painful death after much suffering. Make amends to some people. Spend my last days on earth in relative peace. 

There’s really nothing I can do. 

I can’t even tell them why I CAN’T fight these people. 

She’s right- it’s a conditioned response. A psychological block. A mental thing. What she fails to understand is that I cannot so much as lift a FINGER to hurt these people OR protect myself because my brain has been told- through means of telepathic fuckery- that I am not allowed to. And fuck it- the conditioning is strong. I thought I could resist. I thought I could defend myself. 

I couldn’t. All these years later... and I couldn’t. 

“What did you even do to him?” I ask in resignation. 

Laura is quiet for a long moment before saying, “Well I tricked him into coming to a warehouse with Gabby and I and used Rachel to inflict your mental pain from the assault onto him while he watched the video.” 

“How... do you know my mental pain from the assault?” I pause. “And it wasn’t an assault.” I correct for the MILLIONTH time. 

“It was an assault and you have nightmares about it.” Laura corrects my correction. “Rachel was over one night while you were sleeping...I had her go in your mind- just to observe and record what you were feeling.” 

Okay... “Wow, Laura. Major invasion of personal space,” I say- dumbfounded in a sense. “Why would you do that??” 

“Because you weren’t be forthcoming with the information,” She says. “And I was on a timetable. It’s fine, Rachel promised to not tell a soul what she saw or how it made you feel. She just stored the information and used it when the time was right.” 

“Who is this Rachel person??” I growl. 

“Telepath.” They say at the same time. 

“Jean’s daughter,” Logan goes onto clarify. 

Jean? As in the woman who’s constantly host a fiery space bird who could destroy the planet/universe??? Oh yes- I definitely trust her offspring to go rooting around in my head. That sounds like a lovely idea. Nothing could go wrong with that. 

“We replayed your pain blow for blow,” She said. “He was sorry.” 

“And if he wasn’t,” Logan drawls, “I took his hands and his dick.” 

I look at them in disbelief. “Did either of you think how exactly this would affect me? How it would make me feel? I am in danger-“ 

“And we’re taking care of it,” Logan says easily. “Now, the question is- are you gonna come with us?” 

“And chase down nightmares from my past??” I scoff. 

I still can’t tell them. 

I can’t tell them why I can’t. I’m not allowed to tell anyone. 

My brain simply will not let me. 

It’s a secret. One of the ones I a sworn to protect. 

Because in a sense- the only people who know are the enforcers, who are also sworn to silence, and Romulus himself. The latter who probably doesn’t remember that he’s the one who put the protocols into place in the first place. 

Laura gets a look of understanding. “He probably doesn’t want to see them again, Logan,” She says. “There’s probably a lot of trauma that goes along with their presence.” 

I wouldn’t have phrased it like that... but she’s not technically wrong. So I let it slide. 

Logan nods. “Yea, I guess I can see that.” He walks over and takes a seat on the couch. “We’ll take care of ‘em,” He says. “No one’s gonna hurt you. I promise.” 

Because his promises mean SOOOOO much to me. 

It’s not even worth bringing up at the moment. Too much on my mind to properly fight with him. 

“So... you’ll stay here,” Logan says. “Under supervision, of course.” 

Wait... what? 

“Supervision?” I scoff. 

He nods. “Got Bobby, Rachel, Kitty, and Ro looking out for you. Making sure you don’t do something stupid like use or drink yourself into a coma.” He reaches over and pats my knee. “And there’s just one thing you gotta do for us.” Something in his hand catches on my slacks- there’s a sharp pinch. 

I’m too distracted to really focus on it. 

“Do for you???” I can’t help but laugh. “I had absolutely NO say in this and now you’re telling me I have to perform some task for you??” 

“Yep,” He says. “We need their names. We need their faces. You have that information.” He pauses. “Along with their crimes.” 

That.... is terrifying. 

“No,” I say sternly. “No. I’m not revealing any of that. I would rather DIE than tell you any of that.” 

Logan nods, removing his hand from my knee. “See.... son.... we gotta do this. It’s not a matter of ‘won’t’ anymore. You HAVE to. It’s okay though- your mind is going to be numb. It will be like sleeping.” 

“What will be like sleeping?” I ask suspiciously. 

“Well.... the drugs I just injected with you, for one thing,” He says smoothly. “Then Rachel’s going to go through your mind- she’ll only dig up what’s important. You’ll be sleeping like a baby the whole time.” He smiles. 

Wait- what? “You injected me with something?” As it’s leaving my mouth and I start feeling dizzy. “Why?” 

The pinch. His hand had some kind of hidden needle in it. It went through my slacks and into my knee. I was so worried and pissed that I didn’t even think as to what it might have been. 

“Yep.” He nods. “You’re gonna want to lay down. We don’t want you to get hurt stumbling around.” 

This... is ... “This is ridiculous!” I stammer. 

“I know kid,” Logan says. “I know. This is a breach of trust. But... just keep in mind... we’re your family, we love you, and we’re trying to keep you safe. You refused to give us that information to do to so- we had to take it. You’ll understand later on.” 

My vision is going spotted. 

I lose track of everything for a second. Zoning back in as Logan is lifting me into his arms. “We’ll put him in my bed,” He says to Laura. “Maybe a familiar scent will help him not be so upset when he wakes up.” 

“I think that ship has sailed,” Laura says, following behind us. 

Fuck. I did not agree to this. 

No words are making it past my lips. 

I’m so furious I’m lightheaded. 

The next thing I realize is that I’ve been deposited into a bed. 

“Drake? Watch over him until Rachel gets here. She’s getting Hank to set up the machines we need to get pictures form the memories.” 

I don’t see Drake- but I smell him. 

“Got it, Logan,” He says. 

“If it’s not too much trouble- help Hank strip him,” Logan says. 

Strip me?? Strip me??? Why are they stripping me??? 

“I got him some change of clothes,” Laura says. “Also- and most importantly- do not let him leave.” 

“And take his phone,” Logan says before humming, “Never mind- I’ll take it myself.” He leans over and starts to dig through my pockets, finally retrieving the phone. “Gimme his hand.”  
Drake lifts my wrist and my father puts my thumb to the sensor of the iPhone. It registers my thumb print and unlocks. “I’ll go digging for his passcode,” Logan says easily before bending over and examining me. “You’re gonna be asleep for a while,” He says. “Maybe a whole day. Try not to give ‘em too much hell when you wake up. They’ve got the means to contain you. Don’t test them.” 

‘Don’t test them’ my ass! 

The world seems to spin on it’s side. 

“He’s got a bag of toiletries as well,” Laura says. “And if he needs to get in contact with us Logan, Gabby, and myself all have our phones.” 

There’s a chuckle. “He’s gonna fine, Laura. Just a little sleepover.” 

Logan makes a noise of affirmation. “Keep him out of my liquor,” He says. “When he realizes he’s housebound, he might get a little antsy. Watch the claws. Two in his-“ 

“Two in his knuckles one in his wrist- yea Logan,” Bobby says in monotone, “I’ve seen them.” 

Logan makes that noise again. “And... thanks Drake. For the tip off.” 

“Eh,” Bobby chuckles. “Don’t thank me just yet. I only found the video because it was on a porn site. Might wanna... I don’t know... get a lawyer and make them take it down?” 

“What the hell kind of sites are you on??” Logan growls. 

Bobby snorts. “Logan- it’s not what site I’m on. It’s the fact that it’s on ALL the sites. Even the straight ones. It’s like.... I dunno. I mean... You should see the comments. He’s...” he drops his voice, “he’s in a lot of trouble,” He whispers. 

What??? Drake’s seen the video??? It’s on a site??? It’s.... 

Oh god, I can’t think anymore. 

————————————————————————-

The next thing I’m aware of is a stream of nightmares. 

Slowly but surely, as was their mission, Every face of every enforcer- including the faces of a few of the deceased ones- are played before my eyes. Their crimes move by in a fast forward like scene. Like someone is fast forwarding an old VHS tape. The numerous tortures, beatings, and assaults- moving by too quickly to register. 

When the last one plays- I barely recognize it but I know that man’s face anywhere- my mind goes blank. There’s this feeling of.. peace... that wraps around my mind. I feel.... tired... and at peace with everything I’ve just seen. 

Even though my mind now feels fifty times emptier- I feel a longing for the weight it had previously. It’s like when you’ve had really good sex and he pulls out- you feel the effects he had on your body... but you feel this sense of emptiness. Making you miss him instantly. 

I don’t know what’s going to happen... but I am NOT happy. 

Even this odd sense of peace cannot override my displeasure. 

Someone’s head will roll for this. 

Someone.... 

Oh god... I’m tired. 

I need to .... sleep.


	3. Logan’s idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter is told from Gabby’s POV and I’ve never done it before. So please let me know what you think (next chapter and this chapter too) I’d love to hear y’alls Take on it before it goes off the rails. :D

The boy passed out. He’ll be pissed but.... hey. No one ever said parenting was easy. And parenting him? Damn near impossible. Boy just doesn’t want it. No matter how much I try- I can’t get through to him. 

Laura said he mourned me when I passed.... he sure has a funny as hell way of showing it. 

But- I can’t let him face this on his own. He’s in too deep. If I have to drug him and strand him at the school amongst one time enemies to keep him safe- that’s what I have to do. That’s just the bitch of it. 

Point is- they ain’t gonna stop coming for him. 

Not now. I know the guy put a hit on him. A special hit. A designed solely for them. 

I couldn’t stop him- no matter how hard I tried. A good bit of it was done telepathically anyway. I can’t stop a telepath. 

I didn’t have the heart to tell him just how badly it went when Laura stepped outta the room. 

The way he taunted me. The things he said about Daken. The things he said they were gonna to do to him now. It made my guts churn. I turned him over to SHIELD... but he deserved worse. Way worse. IF anything- he got off easy. My boy needs protection. He needs vengeance. 

I wasn’t there to stop these bastards in the past. He had to suffer on his own. 

He’s not on his own anymore, however. The boy has his family at his back. If he thinks we’re going to let this go down without lifting a finger (or a fist) to help- he’s more fucked up than I thought he was. 

Thing is- these people have no consciences. They have no human emotions. 

I can see why Romulus chose them. And going through Daken’s memories- I know he trained them well. 

Our mission is gonna be hard... but rewarding. The only thing I would change (besides the whole ‘assaulting and trying to kill my kid’ thing) is that I would have been more secretive with the first attack. 

Laura may have jumped the gun. Not unusual for the members of this particular family unit. I told her to have patience. I told her to wait. Usually she’s good at shit like that. 

If she’d let me know her FULL plan, I coulda offered some advice. 

Lately though- these little shits don’t want my advice. 

They’ve learned to work without me. 

It’s to the point where I’m kinda worried that Laura won’t follow my orders. 

I had a thought- a stupid one maybe- that we can cut this whole thing off if we talk to the main man instead of his lackeys. 

That would mean making a deal with SHIELD though. And lately? Not my thing. 

May be Laura’s... but not mine. 

We got all the information we needed from Daken’s head. That and a warning from Rachel about how pissed he was. 

I know that’s mainly because he’s scared though. He doesn’t have to say it out loud. His reactions were proof enough. 

I just keep going back to when his momma was pregnant with him. I told her I’d love the baby. That I’d protect the baby. 

How do I protect the baby when the baby won’t let me in the same room as him? 

I jokingly told Drake that I was ‘taking care of the baby’ the other night. The code name... kinda stuck. I know he’ll be pissed if they say it around him... but it’s funny to me. Hopefully he’ll take it with a grain of salt. 

They used the hell out of it when I was planning to crash Laura’s little shindig. 

He’ll get over it- I’m sure. I might have to bleed a little- but he’ll get over it. 

Gabby- the only child who might possibly follow my orders unconditionally... which I think is only because I haven’t spent a lot of time with her- is sitting beside me in the SUV, playing with the radio dial. 

I had it on a classic rock station. It wasn’t good enough for the girl. She wanted something different. Something with ‘variety’ as she put it. 

Now we’re listening to god awful pop music- that she admits she hates but wants to listen to so she can ‘blend in with kids her age’. Laura is on her phone in the backseat, seemingly ignoring us. 

God. I have so much to tell her. So much I want to say. 

“I’m sorry” being at the top of the list. 

I left her. 

I took that mission... and I knew- I knew- there would be no coming home. 

I didn’t say ‘bye’. I didn’t give her a heads up. 

I don’t even know who told her I was dead. 

I’ve lost people before- I know how hard it is. I shouldn’t have put her through that. 

She doesn’t seem resentful, however. 

She’s done a lot of good work while I’ve been six feet under. 

Her work with her brother? Astounding. 

I’m decently sure she’s the reason he was wiling to work with the x-men in the first place. 

The two of them... well I guess the three of them now.... I don’t know what to call it when I look at them. Pride doesn’t cover it. 

Not that I can verbally let them know that. 

Expressing emotions isn’t our family’s strong suit. 

In a sense- I think they know, though. 

I hope they do- at any rate. 

When the third wanna be rap song comes out he radio, I hold down the volume dial and power it down all together. “That’s enough,” I growl, putting my hand back on the steering wheel. 

Gabby crosses her arms over her hoodie. “Just trying to liven the mood.” She rolls her eyes. 

“Mood doesn’t need livened,” I say, amused. 

“Beg to differ,” She says. “You’re both so gloomy. Let’s focus on getting the bad guys! That’s always fun! We’re an elite killing unit. A well oiled machine! It’s time to show these m-effers who they’re dealing with!” 

It’s cute that she didn’t curse. 

“We will,” I say. “I promise.” 

Starting with this asshole in Texas. Man. Three hundred years of age. Telepath. Common punishments were inflicting terrifying hallucinations on his victim- IE my son. He’s a sadist. I mean- they’re all sadists in some capacity. But this guy? This guy is old school sadist. 

The question is- how do you sneak up on a telepath? It’s literally impossible. Even with how well we all shield our minds. 

If Daken had cooperated, we would’ve had additional intel on how to deal with this guy. As is... we’re gonna have to wing it. 

We’ve been on the road for a while. Through several time zones, the suns up and in the sky, we’re all a little.... bored and Gabby insists that Laura’s ‘cranky’. 

She doesn’t look cranky. 

God I hate using that word. 

Laura sighs from the back seat. “Daken wants to know where we are,” She says. 

“Tell him it’s none of his business,” I say, smirking at the thought of him reading that message. 

She’s quiet for a second. “Bobby says he got into your whiskey.” 

“Bobby got into my whiskey or Daken got into my whiskey?” I ask. 

Laura is quiet for another second. “Honestly, judging from Bobby’s text, it sounds like both of them.” 

“Damnit Drake,” I curse under my breath. “Tell him just to watch Daken,” I order. “He doesn’t leave.” 

Laura texts for a second. “Bobby’s asking if Daken can leave if he goes with him,” She says. 

“No,” I say. “Neither of them can leave.” 

She texts some more. “He’s asking if they can both leave together if they have a third party supervisor,” She says. 

“God damn it,” I growl, fishing my phone out my pocket and dialing Drake’s number. 

He answers on the second ring. “Asshole,” I say in greeting, “What part of “keep him in the house” are you not getting?” 

“Yea,I get that,” Bobby slurs. “But- but- what if I went with him?” 

“NO,” I say. “Because he’ll trick you and get away.” 

Bobby gasps. “He won’t trick me! I’m too smart for that.” 

“Oh yea? Whose idea was it to get drunk?” I ask somewhat patiently (In my opinion). 

“It was his,” Bobby says. “But he was drinking by himself.... and I didn’t want him to. He looked sad.” 

“Yea- and he’s a manipulative little shit,” I say. “He wanted you to drink with him so he could talk you into letting him go. Do not let him leave the house.” 

Bobby says- not to me- “Logan says you can’t leave the house, even if I go with you.” 

“Why????” I hear off in the distance. 

“He says you’ll trick me.” 

“How can I trick someone as smart as you?” Daken purrs. 

Oh god. 

“Put him on the phone, Drake,” I growl. 

“But-“ 

“NOW, Bobby,” I order. 

Bobby grumbles and the phone is audibly passed. “Kid- stop,” I say before he can say anything. “You’re staying in the house. You’re safe in the house.” 

“I’m not safe anywhere because of you assholes,” He growls- sounding just a little tipsy. 

“Yea? Well you’re safer there than you are anywhere else. Stop trying to trick your babysitters.” 

“Trick them? Oh how could I possibly trick the mighty x-men?” He asks sarcastically. 

“Keep it up,” I smirk. “I’ll call Rachel or Hank and have them knock you out again.” 

“You wouldn’t dare,” He hisses. 

“I’ll call them right now, Daken,” I threaten. “They’ll come in and take care of you- do you want that?” 

He exhales loudly. 

“Do you want that?” I repeat. 

“No!” He snaps. “No, I don’t want that!” 

“Then leave Drake alone,” I pause. “And stop drinking my damn whiskey. That shits expensive.” 

He mumbles something along the lines of ‘fuck off’ but I ignore him.

“Give the phone back to Bobby,” I order. 

Bobby’s back on the phone in a matter of seconds. “Whatever you said made him pout,” Bobby says. 

“I told him to leave you alone,” I say. “You’ll thank me for that later. Text Ro and Rachel and have them come sit with him.” 

“That’s not necessary,” Bobby fumbles with the word ‘necessary’. “We’re really having a good time.” 

I exhale slowly. “Drake, if you take my son out of that school he will most likely die- do you understand me?” 

“Not if someone else goes with him,” Bobby insists. 

“Let’s try this then,” I growl, “If you or ANYONE ELSE takes my son out of that school I will kick all of your asses.” I wait for his response. When it doesn’t come I add, “Are we clear?” 

“We’re clear,” He says finally. “But just so you know, this makes you sound like a bad dad.” 

What?? “Excuse me?” I snarl. 

“You won’t let your son out of your house- even though he’s done nothing wrong! It’s imprisonment!” 

“He’s in fucking danger!” I growl, seeing the sign for our exit coming up. “I can’t do this right now,” I say hurriedly. “Keep him in the damn house. I’ll deal with his ‘mental scars’ from my wrongful imprisonment later.” 

Bobby mumbles his agreement. 

“And get the fuck out my liquor,” I growl. “You both owe me a new bottle.” 

“Yea, that’s fair,” Bobby agrees. “Talk to you later.” 

I shake my head. “I’ll call back to check on him later, when he’s had some time to sober up.” 

“Sounds cool to me.” 

“Cool,” I hang up the phone. 

“You coulda said ‘bye’,” Gabby says. 

Laura is in the back smiling. “They’re drunk. How funny.” 

“Yea, it’s a real riot.” We pull up to a dirt road. “Guy lives down this road, only farm house on the left. He can probably read us from here, so guard your minds as much as possible. If we can make it look like we’re lost- that will work in our favor.” 

I park the car on the side of the road. Not ideal for a getaway car- no. But if this goes like it should- like I’m hoping for- we won’t be leaving for quite a while. Justice and all that. If I can subdue him, lop a few body parts off, and possibly drown him in the large pond that seems to be on his property- from what I can see from our spot on the road I think it’s a pond anyway- we won’t have to worry about a hasty escape. We’ll be able to take our time doing what needs to be done. 

Kinda feels good. Like I’m honoring Itsu’s wishes for once. Of course, she wouldn’t have liked the whole ‘international torture spree’ kinda thing... but I’m improvising. 

It’s not like Daken brought this on himself. For once.   
If anything this is more of Laura’s ‘my bad’ moment. 

Not that we were going to let that asshole who hurt him walk free in the first place. If she hadn’t gotten to him- I woulda eventually. 

I turn to the girl in the passenger seat. “You wanna stay here and wait for us to call you?” I ask. 

“Why?” She asks, confused. 

“We’re gonna do some messy stuff.... thought you’d want to stay out of it,” I say. 

“No thank you,” She says with a smile. “When it comes to defending a sibling- I think it’s a ‘all hands on deck’ situation. The bigger show of force we have the better- right?” 

She’s... got a point. 

I just shake my head. “Fine. But if you start to get upset-“ 

“She won’t get upset, Logan,” Laura says patiently. 

“Yea!” Gabby adds. “I’m a professional!” 

A professional torturer? At thirteen? Unlikely. 

But hey- Laura was her age when shit like this was going down around her. Who am I to stop the ‘natural progression’ of things in our family. A bloody hunt is pretty much a rite of passage where we’re concerned. 

Laura had it. I had it. Daken had it. Why not Gabby? 

She’s already seen more than her fair share. 

And honestly, fighting with a teenager is not on my list of things to do today. 

We exit the black SUV as quietly as possible, Gabby taking the time to stretch and kinda swing her arms around. It’s... cute. 

“Gabby... what are you doing?” I have to ask. 

“Loosening up my stabbing muscles!” She says, doing rapid successions jack rabbit punches in the air. 

Ah. Good to know. 

“Focus,” Laura chides. “We might be stepping into a trap.” 

“Trap schamp.” Gabby waves her hand through the air as if to dismiss the idea. “They can’t handle all three of us,” She pauses. “Woulda been great if Daken coulda come though. Four of us would be unstoppable.” 

Yea. Woulda been nice. 

Poor Drake back at home is probably receiving an ear full. Kid was NOT happy when we left. He didn’t want to show us any of that. I think he woulda taken it to his grave if he coulda. 

But- we intervened. I want to talk to him about it. 

But god knows he’ll shut me out. 

I would suggest he talk to someone else about it... but that would result in being shut out even faster. 

I guess all I want to tell him is that I see where he’s been. I know where he’s coming from- what he’s been through. I want to tell him I understand. 

What I ended up telling him was ‘I’m doing this without your permission and drugging you against your will to do it’. My actions did not match my intentions. 

They rarely do though- to be honest.

Laura puts her hand on my shoulder. “Logan,” She says. “We should get moving- leaving a car on the side of the road is already going to raise suspicions. We need to make sure we don’t cause too much of a commotion.” 

Right. Got it. 

I nod and we start to walk down the dirt road. 

To the right of the road is a barn- a big old blue barn. Paint peeling off the sides and roof looking like it’s seen better days. 

To the left is a red farmhouse. 

Apparently matchy matchy is not something he’s big on. 

The house has a wrap around porch that extends halfway around the side of the house, lined with metal railing that’s covered in rust. 

A few feet from the porch lays the pond. Perfect for taking care of business. 

As we approach the blue house, a woman exits the large black screen door, and leans over the railing. 

She’s... beautiful. So beautiful. So familiar. 

It’s like my brain doesn’t want to focus on anything else. 

She must be his lady or his kid. 

Either way, she’s probably innocent. 

I need to get her out of here so I can take care of business. We may need to knock her out and just remove him. 

When we finish moving as close as we can get to her, she smiles. 

“And what brings y’all to my comfy little farm?” She asks in that tell tale Texas drawl. 

“Looking for someone,” I say. “Goes by the name of “Ian”. Bout my age.” I watch her face- which gives nothing away. 

“Ah.” She continues to smile. “Ian ain’t lived here in years,” She says. 

Fuck. 

“We’ve come a long way to find him,” Laura says. “Is there a chance you know where he lives?” 

The woman shakes her head. “Sorry, but no. Rumor has it he just packed up and head off into the sunset. No ones ever seen him since.” 

Well fuck. 

“She’s lying,” Gabby says loudly. 

Both Laura and I turn to her.

“Gabby...” Laura hisses. 

Gabby raises an eyebrow. “She smells like she’s lying,” She says. “You don’t smell that?” 

Well... 

“No.” Laura crosses her arms. “I don’t.” 

“I’m not lyin’,” The woman says with a chuckle. “It’s the honest to god truth. Why don’t y’all go check downtown at the records office and see if you can’t track him down that way?” 

“She’s lying,” Gabby says. “And she doesn’t look like much a woman.” 

I have no fucking clue what the kids on about. She looks like a woman to me. An attractive woman at that. 

“Ouch, darlin’,” The woman puts a hand to her ample chest. “Come on now. No need to be rude.” 

“Gabby, that is obviously a woman,” Laura says. 

“No- it’s a trick,” Gabby insists. “She’s lying!” 

“Gabby-“ 

“She’s lying!” Gabby insists, extending her claw on her right hand. “Let’s take her down!” 

“Gabby- that’s enough,” I growl. 

“She’s lying!” Gabby growls, stepping forward. “She knows something! And ‘she’s’ not a she!” 

The woman in front of us smiles cruelly. 

“Well done,” Her voice drops to something sounding vaguely mannish. “My glamour only works on those who are.... weaker minded. Granted- I didn’t put that much thought into it. Your father and your sister seemed happy enough to accept the presence of a beautiful woman.” The woman raises an eyebrow. “I guess you’re a little harder to fool.” 

“Pretty sure that’s a dude,” Gabby whispers. 

The woman turns into a somewhat rough looking man. 

Fat, balding, wearing a stained undershirt and some cargo shorts. 

Definitely not a woman. 

“So.....” he drawls. “My little disguise didn’t work.” 

“You made an ugly woman,” Gabby says, putting her hand on her hip. “Now get ready for-“ 

“Oh be quiet,” The man hisses a second before Gabby’s mouth clamps shut- very much against her will. He directs his dark gaze at Laura and I. “You found me,” He says. “And you’re going to regret it.” 

“Yea....” I watch him for a second. “I don’t think so.” 

Laura moves to one side, I move to the other- cutting off his escape routes. 

“Go into that house and we will knock the door down,” Laura growls. 

Gabby nods furiously. 

“Into the house?” The man grins. “As in run? Oh darling you have no clue what you’re in for.” 

The scene around us starts to shift, the grass turns to gravel, the house behind us loses any sense of ‘house’ and turns into a small, dark, cave. 

The only thing that stays the same is the pond- though it looks way darker than before. And I’ll just bet he’s got something hiding in it. Something nasty. 

“It’s another trick,” Gabby growls, finally breaking her silence. 

The man is frowning. “No, I assure you, this time it’s real.” 

“It’s another trick,” Gabby insists. “Everything is wavy around the edges.” 

She’s... got a point. The imagery is off just a tad bit- unnoticeable at first. 

“We’re here to talk to you about our brother,” Gabby says. “And son,” She adds. 

“Your brother,” The man bends at the waist, “Is a traitor. And traitors get what traitors deserve. Maybe... I’ll pay him a little visit.” 

“You’re not going anywhere,” I growl. 

“Oh, I don’t have to,” The man says. “I can do it from right here.” He closes his eyes and his smile grows. “Perfect,” He says. “Of course, I was going to hold off on doing this to see if someone was indeed trying to hunt us down. Now I think I’ll just liquify his mind from here and call it a day.” 

“You’re bluffing,” I say, sure that that’s what he’s doing. 

Sure that is, until my phone starts ringing. 

The man motions with his hand to the phone, “Answer it,” he says with a smile. “Please.” 

It’s Ro’s number. 

I step back, keeping my eyes on the man, and answer the phone. 

“Logan, somethings wrong,” Ro says in a panicked tone. 

“Wrong?” 

Fuck. 

“With Daken,” She says. “He’s in a lot of pain.... says there’s a man in the room that no one else can see. We’re trying to calm him, but he’s hurting anyone that gets near him in an attempt to escape.” 

“Don’t touch him,” I tell her. “I’m handling it, darling.” 

I pull the phone away from my face. “Stop,” I tell him. 

“Hmm... how about... you leave?” He grins. “Or I’ll make it worse. I’ll send him into a panicked frenzy and he’ll kill all of your little friends. I’ve done it before. Trust me- it’ll hurt him a lot more than it will hurt them.” 

While he’s talking to me, Gabby’s miraculously snuck up onto the porch. “Get out of my brother’s head!” She snarls before tackling him. 

Not the approach I woulda gone for... but here we go. 

Laura springs into action before I do- leaping over the railing on the porch- which is still there, he just morphed our minds into thinking it was a cave to confuse us- and sends her claws into his head- causing him to slump forward. 

“He won’t be out for long,” I warn, watching the scene around us shift back to normal. 

“No,” She agrees, “But if I keep my claws in his brain- he won’t be able to use his powers.” 

On the phone, which is still in my hand, I hear Ro sigh in relief. “He’s settling,” She says. “But your room is completely trashed.” 

Yea. Figures. “Get Hank to put him to sleep,” I tell her. “He’s probably still in a lot of pain.” 

I hear him in the background warning them not to touch him. 

“He’ll calm down,” I assure her. “Just get him some pain meds and some sedatives. Keep the house from taking any more damage.” 

“Righ,” She says. “I think you should find an easier way to come home... that doesn’t involve driving,” She says. “Shall I send a teleporter?” 

That... is not a bad idea. 

“Hank still got his set up?” I ask. 

“Yes,” She says. “We’ll find away to teleport the car to the front lawn. You should come back as soon as humanly possible. I imagine Daken’s going to require some... attention that we cannot give him. Mainly because he is still very upset and we cannot touch him.” 

Right. Gotta take care of the baby. 

“Have Hank make that portal,” I say. “We’re bringing this asshole with us.” 

Laura nods. “I’ve got him,” She says. 

So much for drowning him in the pond. 

“That’s a great idea,” Ro agrees. “That way you can turn him over to SHIELD and not take matters too much into your own hands.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I know you, my love. I know what you want to do,” She says. “Turn him over to the authorities. They have ways of dealing with telepaths to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” 

Right. 

Right. 

Take him home. 

“Got it,” I say. “Laura- pick him up,” I order. “They’re sending a portal. We’re gonna head back to the van.” 

“Right.” Laura lifts the guy like he weighs nothing and exits the porch, walking off in the direction of the car. 

Gabby stays behind. “Is Daken okay?” She asks. 

“Yea,” I say. “Yea, he’s gonna be okay.” 

“But he’s not right now?” She asks. 

I shake my head. “That asshole hurt him. He’s gonna be fine though.” 

I motion for her to get off the porch, putting my hand on her shoulder when she does. “What you did was very brave,” I tell her. 

Gabby smiles. “I know.” 

“But very stupid,” I add. 

“I know.” She’s still smiling. 

“As long as you know,” I chuckle. “Ro, have them lock onto Laura’s signature and use it for coordinates. We’ll see you in a few.” 

“Got it,” She says. “Please proceed carefully.” 

“I will. Bye.” 

I hang the phone up and put it back in my pocket. 

“Oh, so you’ll tell her bye,” Gabby says, starting to follow Laura’s retreating form. 

“Yea well she offers me a hell of a lot more than Bobby does,” I laugh. 

“Bobby could offer you what Ororo does,” Gabby says. “Since he ya know- likes guys?” 

“Eh.... nah,” I say. “Not really my thing.” 

“You mean to tell me that in your many years of life you never thought another guy was cute?” She asks. 

“No....why?” I ask, following after her. 

“I think other girls are cute,” Gabby says. “So does Laura.” 

“Ah.” Okay. I didn’t know that about Laura. 

“Laura really likes Jubilee,” Gabby says, smiling over her shoulder at me. 

You don’t say. That’s... I mean... there’s worse kids. Jube’s is a good kid. She’s got spunk. Laura’s got spunk. They’d go decent together. In the very least I know that Jubilee wouldn’t hurt her- and as a parent that’s really all I can ask for. 

“And Daken likes boys and girls too.” 

Little hung up on it- ain’t she? 

“Gabby- why are we having this conversation?” I ask her. 

“I’m feeling you out,” Gabby says. “So that when Laura tells you- you won’t hurt her feelings.” 

“Tells me?” I ask. “Why would she have to tell me?” 

Gabby shrugs. “I dunno. I guess that’s just what kids do. Except for you because apparently you don’t think guys are cute.” 

“No, I don’t,” I agree. 

“But you really like women.” 

I stop walking. “I’m gonna be honest kid- you’re making me uncomfortable.” 

Gabby smiles. “My bad. I just... wanna know what you think. Because Daken and Laura both like boys and girls at the same time... it’s only logical that I should too, right?” She asks. 

“Hmm... no,” I say. “You like who you wanna like.” 

“I wanna like Jean,” Gabby smiles. 

That makes me laugh- a little more suddenly than intended. “Well good luck with that kid.” I pat her shoulder. “Cause I have been down that road.” 

Gabby frowns. 

“And she’s a lot older than you,” I smile. “Try picking someone your own age.” 

“Okay... then I like.....” She frowns. “I guess I don’t like anyone then.” 

“If that’s how you feel.... then so be it.” 

She nods. “Are you sure you don’t like guys.... at least a little bit?” 

“I’m sure,” I say in monotone. 

“Not even... Scott?” 

The thought makes my blood boil. “No.” 

She holds her hands up. “Sorry, sorry.” 

Things with Slim were... weird. But never that weird. 

I’m a pretty confident person. Kinda set in my ways. I think if I was ever tempted by another man- I’d know by now. 

“So you never liked Bobby either?” She asks. 

“No,” I sigh. “I never liked Bobby like that.” 

“Hmm.... well that sucks,” She says finally. “I told little Bobby I’d help find big Bobby a date. And... I thought it was the most logical to start with the other x-men.” 

“Why would you try me?” I ask. “I’m with Ro.” 

“I know... I know... but it was a long shot,” She waves her hand through the air. “But that’s okay.” Gabby says. “Because Daken likes Bobby.” 

“He does what now?” That’s more surprising than the Laura revelations. 

“He likes him,” Gabby says. “I read his text messages in the car.” 

Okay.... Drake... and my kid? My kid? My son? 

Oh hell no. 

It’s not that Drake’s not a good guy- he is. 

I just... don’t seem him being able to provide for my kid like he needs provided for. 

And honestly- none of my friends should be dating my kids. I don’t care. 

I mean.... I don’t know. I was fine with Laura liking Jubilee. 

Maybe that’s because I’m pretty sure Jube’s is straight. 

Then again- I can’t hand pick who my kids date. Or like. 

So really... I guess it’s not my business. So long as they’re being safe. 

We make it back to the van to see a large portal open in front of it. Really taking up most of the road. 

I make sure everyone’s in the car before driving it through and ending up on the front lawn where several x-men are waiting. Several x-men who are severely banged up. 

“Everyone okay?” I ask , getting out of the car. 

Ro is at the front of the group. “Your son crawled into the air ducts trying to get away,” She says. “We had to pull him out...” she lifts her bandaged hand, “he was rightfully scared.” She looks behind me, concern on her face. “Is that the man behind this?” 

Laura has dumped the unconscious telepath onto the ground. 

“Yea- that’s him,” I say. 

“Maybe he can explain why your son was in tears thinking some creature was coming out of the wall,” She says. “Speaking of- we have yet to be able to calm him. No one can get near him, Rachel can’t get in his head, and he keeps injuring himself on accident. His healing factor is functional... but there appears to be some cognitive issue that’s arisen.” 

“Got it.” I nod to my daughters. “Take this asshole-“ 

“We’re coming with you,” Gabby says. “Daken will feel safer with all of us there.” 

“Now-“ 

“She’s got a point, Logan,” Laura says. “With your pasts being kept in mind- he might think you’re there to hurt him.” 

Right. 

I nod again. “Come on.” 

“We’ve got him corralled into the danger room,” Hank says- from the back of the small group. “Bobby is trying to reach him.” 

Right. 

I walk into the house and see just... a trail of destruction. Claw marks in the walls and tiles on the floor, broken furniture, and impressive slashes in the ceiling- don’t know how he got up there- but it’s definitely him. 

The air gets... heavy as we make it to the danger room. Which for a room that’s pretty much indestructible has been thoroughly destroyed as well. 

Daken is in the corner, clutching his head, surrounded by Bobby, Rachel, and Jubilee. He doesn’t look so hot. 

“Hey kid,” 

He flinches at my voice. 

“Hey, hey,” I say, softer. “It’s okay.” 

“You shouldn’t have done it,” He murmurs. “None of you should have done it. I told you not to do it. I TOLD YOU!” 

His voice raises at the end. 

“Take it easy,” I soothe, hands out in front of me as I approach him. “Bobby, Rachel, Jubes- back up a little,” I tell them. “You’re within striking distance.” 

They nod and back up. 

“Easy, kid,” I tell him. “Everything’s fine.... everything is jussst fine.” 

“Told you not to,” He says- almost feverishly. “Told you not to. Told you not to interfere. Told you not to get involved. It wasn’t a problem. It... wasn’t... a fucking PROBLEM!!” 

“Easy now,” I try again, bending down in front of him. “Easy,” I tell him. “It’s okay.... we got the guy. Okay? We got him. We’re gonna turn him over to SHIELD. No big deal- right? No big deal. We got him. You’re safe. You’re-“ 

“You woke the fucking dragon!” He yells at me. 

Okay... “I don’t know what that is.” 

“You should! YOU woke it up!” 

“Dragons aren’t real, Daken,” Gabby says sweetly. 

“Oh really? Oh really? Dragons aren’t real?? Really???” He scoffs. 

“They’re not,” Gabby says. 

“You woke it up. You woke it up. Told you not to. Told you to leave it alone. Told you- told you,” He slams his fist into his forehead. “I fucking told you!!!” 

“Don’t hit yourself,” Laura says before I can. “If there is a dragon, we’ll take care of it.” 

“Take care... take care of it??? You CAN’T!!!” He laughs hysterically. 

Yea..... “How’s your head, kid?” I ask. 

“On fire,” He says quietly. “On... I’m on fire.” 

“You’re not on fire,” I say gently. “I promise.” 

“I don’t feel good,” He says. 

“I know you don’t.” I move closer to him. “Are you in pain?” 

“That’s what I just fucking told you!!!!” He’s angry again. 

Talk about mood swings. 

“Let us help you then,” I say. “Okay? Let us help?” 

“You can’t help!” He scoffs. “You’ve only made everything FIFTY times worse!!!” 

“Easy now,” I soothe. “Come on Daken. You know there’s no such things as dragons. Okay? No such things. You’re safe. You’re-“ 

“Do you know how many of those ‘enforcers’ are telepaths???” He demands. “Do you know what you’ve done??? My brain is pretty much forfeit. My mind is going to be torn to SHREDS.” He stops, laughing again. “I’m dead,” He says. “I’m dead. You’ve killed me. Again.” He winces and backs away from me- having just noticed how close I am to him. 

If he keeps backing up, he’s going to hit the wall. If he hits the wall he’ll start lashing out like a cornered animal. And fuck do I not want to be cut up today. 

“Easy, son,” I soothe. “Easy. You’re okay. You’re-“ 

“I am not okay!!!” Daken yells. “This is not OKAY! NOTHING is okay!” 

He backs up some more. 

“Stop moving,” I tell him. “Sit still.” 

“Don’t touch me,” He says, focusing on my hands. “Don’t fucking touch me.” 

“I need you to be really calm,” I say. 

“Don’t touch me,” He repeats, shaking his head. “Don’t touch me.” 

“I need to feel your forehead,” I say calmly. “To feel how hot you are.” 

“Don’t touch me,” He shakes his head. “Keep your fucking hands off of me!!!” 

“Easy now,” I soothe, “Come on Daken. Easy. I just need to feel your forehead.” 

“It hurts,” He groans. “It hurts.” 

“I know it hurts.” I see that his nose is bleeding now. “Someone go get Hank,” I say over my shoulder, listening as one of them hurriedly exits. “Listen to me,” I tell him. “Focus on me.” 

“Woke up the dragon,” He says. “Woke up all of them. They were sleeping. You told them where I was. You told them they were in danger. You... you’ve killed me. Again. You’ve killed me.” 

I’m finally close enough to get to his forehead. I gently press my hand against his skin while he’s distracted muttering to himself. He’s burning up. 

“Drake?” I call behind me. 

“Yea?” Good. He’s still back there. 

“He’s got one helluva a fever,” I say. “Little help?” 

“Sure.” Bobby moves to where I am, drawing Daken’s attention to him. 

“Don’t touch me,” He growls. “Don’t fucking touch me.” 

“Bobby’s gonna try to cool you down,” I tell him. “Asshole said something about liquefying your brain.... and your nose is bleeding. It’s not a good sign.” 

“I don’t want to die,” He says feverishly. 

“We’re not gonna let you die,” Bobby says gently, putting his hand on Daken’s forehead. “Deep breaths.” 

Daken’s breathing is getting shallow. 

“Easy,” I soothe. “Easy now.” 

he slumps forward, giving me about three seconds to catch him. 

“Daken??” I shake him a little in my arms. “Hey... hey...” His eyes flutter open. “Okay,” I soothe. “You’re okay. It’s alllll okay.” 

I’ve never held him before. Not like this. He seems weightless. 

“Okay kiddo,” I say gently. “Okay.” I turn to Bobby. “Ice him up,” I tell him. “We gotta get this fever to break.” 

Bobby puts his hand back on Daken’s forehead. “Easy,” He soothes. “It’s all okay.” 

I hold a motionless Daken for about ten minutes before his body starts to tremble. 

“He’s cold,” I note. 

Laura shrugs off the jacket of her uniform and drapes it over him. He’s dressed as if he were in bed, so there’s a lot of skin to cover. 

I check his forehead and note that the fever is gone. Which is good. 

“I’m worried about him freezing to death,” Laura says gently. 

“I got him.” I lift him in my arms and carry him out the doors, right back up into my room. 

His sisters followed me up here and are standing in the door. “Got you some blankets,” I tell him. 

He groans. 

“Yea,” I say. “I know kid. I know.” The blood on his face is dry. He’s gonna be okay. “He needs water,” I tell his sisters. “Someone go get him a bottle.” 

Gabby leaves without another word. 

“Logan,” Laura says after a small moment of silence. “I’m worried about this ‘dragon’ he mentioned.” 

I make sure his pillows are positioned comfortably. “Dragons ain’t real,” I say. 

“What if the dragon isn’t a dragon?” She asks. “What if it’s a code name? Or an instrument?” 

That..... makes me think. 

“Yea?” I look over my shoulder at her. 

“What if he’s right to be worried?” She asks quietly. 

“Laura-“ 

“What if I’ve hurt him?” She asks. 

“You did what you thought was right,” I tell her. “And honestly, once this is all over- he’ll thank you. Really. He’ll be grateful.” 

“He’s scared,” Laura says. “I’ve never seen him scared before.” 

Gabby walks back into the room with a chilled water bottle, passing it over without a word.

“We need to find this dragon,” Laura says. 

“I agree,” I say. “But someone has to stay with him.” 

“So we should split up?” Gabby asks. 

“Or take him with us,” Laura says. 

That’s... not a bad idea. That’s actually a really good idea. 

“The dragon is probably involved with Romulus himself,” I say. “And...” 

If Romulus had a ‘dragon’ there’s someone I know who may very well know what we’re talking about. 

“And....?” Laura prompts. 

I turn to her. “We gotta go to Rome,” I say. “I know someone who might be able to help us.” 

“You’re not going straight to Romulus, are you?” Laura asks. 

“No,” I say. “But I do know his sister. If he has something that can hurt Daken like this- if Daken’s THIS scared of something- she might know about it.” 

Laura nods. 

I take the bottle in my hands and put it to his lips, dumping a small amount onto his tongue. “There we go,” I say. “That’s better.” 

“So.... we’re going to Rome?” Gabby asks. 

“We’re going to Rome,” I agree. “We’ll need to make sure your brother’s road ready.” 

He murmurs something incoherently. 

“How do we get him ‘road ready’?” Gabby asks. 

“Well.... he’s not gonna come with us willingly,” I say. “And he’s gonna try to get away.” 

“So....” Gabby hums. “We...?” 

“Drug him up really good,” I say. “And... hopefully he’ll like the drugs enough to stick around.” 

They nod. 

“Go get Hank,” I say. “Tell him I’m gonna need about a month of sedatives, tranquilizers, and maybe some psych meds- just to make sure he’s really out of it.” 

“You’re just going to... keep him drugged?” Laura asks. 

I nod. “To keep him safe.” He starts to twitch on the bed. “He’ll be okay,” I assure them. “Go get Hank.” 

Laura looks at him for a long minute and then nods. “Okay,” She says. “But only because there seems to be no other option.... and keeping him here while telepaths mess with his brain could get someone hurt.” 

Right. And we don’t want that. 

“Oh! We can take Bobby and Jubilee with us for backup!” Gabby says. 

“I’m not sure-“ 

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Laura says before I can override it. “A team of six is better than a team of four.” 

Well.... 

“I’ll go get them,” Gabby says happily. 

“And I’ll go get Hank,” Laura says. 

“Girls-“ 

“Shush,” Gabby says. “It’s been decided.” 

Oh hell. 

“Ask Ro if she wants to go to, I guess,” I say. “Might as well.” 

“A team of seven?? Even better!” Gabby runs off down the hall to gather our ‘team’. 

“I’ll put in some calls,” I say. “Make sure the plane has a bed.” 

“Bed?” 

I motion to the room around me. “Look how trashed this place is. We’re keeping him asleep and resting at all costs.” 

Laura nods. “Sounds like a sound plan.” 

“Yep. Now go get Hank. Remember, tranquilizers, sedatives, and any spare psych meds- don’t care what they’re for, just tell him to give them to us.” 

Laura nods and walks off. 

I sit on the side of the bed, adjusting Daken’s blankets. “Kid, you just got enlisted in the hunt of a lifetime,” I chuckle. “But don’t worry. We’re gonna take care of you.” 

He mutters something in a dazed way, rolling onto his side away from my voice. 

“That’s right,” I pat his side. “You get some sleep. We’re gonna take care of everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> So Just to be clear - in case there’s confusion. ‘Ian’ is not trans. It was a glamour that Logan and Laura didn’t look to hard into it becuase they saw what he wanted them to see- a beautiful woman. Gabby did not, however. I am not making a statement against trans people- who are wonderful and valid. It was literally a trick.


End file.
